The Business Manager
Previous episode: The Matchmaker Next episode: Mr. and Mrs. TV Show http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/StickyWaffles.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/StockMarket.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/PrettyDress.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/CanAllPet.jpg Plot Lucy has done a terrible job keeping up with the bills. Now, all of the Ricardos' utilities have been turned off, and Ricky is so angry that he hires a business manager to help with the finances. Business manager Mr. Hickox provides an allowance for Lucy to pay bills with. But, because Lucy is behind on a few months worth of bills; the allowance money is dwindled down to only $5 for monthly expenses, and Lucy rightly questions how a family of three can live on such a small amount. Mr. Hickox is hard on Lucy and says it is for her and Ricky's own good. However, he is not unreasonable and provides another solution. He arranges for a charge account for the Ricardos at the local market by which they can get the food and supplies they need. But, he won't be won over by Lucy's female charms and request for more actual money. When Ethel asks Lucy to pick up some things for her at the market, Lucy realizes that she can buy people's groceries on the charge account and keep the money the people pay her to use for herself. So, she starts buying groceries for all the neighbors in the apartment building and soon fills up the whole kitchen with supplies. Ricky gets suspicious when he sees Lucy in a beautiful new dress pull out a huge wad of bills from her purse. Fred says that he thinks he heard Lucy and Ethel talk about the market. Ricky finds the notepad Lucy had written "Tuesday: Buy Can Al Pet" on, as a reminder for her to buy Mrs. Trumbull some cat food the next day. Ricky thinks that Lucy's been playing the stock market and is ready to buy stock in Canadian Allied Petroleum. The next day, Ricky comes home with a smile on his face and $1000 in his hand. He hit it big by buying Canadian Allied Petroleum stock. He tells Lucy that he fired Mr. Hickox, because Hickox told Ricky that Canadian Allied Petroleum was "bad stock." Lucy starts to panic about how she will pay off the $473 she owes the market, but Ricky gives her half of the $1000 winnings. Lucy says she definitely plans to put the $500 right back in the market. Trivia *The Ricardos' business manager, Mr. Hickox, was named after Lucy and Desi's real-life business manager. *This was the 100th episode ever filmed. The cast and crew held a party afterwards in Jess Oppenheimer's honor. The cake said, "The first 100 are the hardest?" *Lucy's market scheme is one of her least-logical schemes ever planned. She was not even making a profit from buying other neighbors' groceries. It would have been different if Mr. Hickox really were paying the market bill and Lucy got excess grocery money without having to pay anything back. But she knew that she'd have to pay the market bill at the end of the month, and that letting Mr. Hickox "manage" would really only mean paying the Ricardos' bills with the Ricardos' own money. *Ethel doesn't act like a very good best friend when Lucy is pleading with Mr. Hickox. She knows that Lucy is down to her last $5, but when Lucy loses the bet she made with Ethel about getting Mr. Hickox to shell out more money each month, Ethel still ends up taking the money, the last money Lucy has. You'd think Ethel would have just shrugged off the bet winnings, but she is cheapskate Fred's wife for a reason, presumably. *Lucy was making waffles for breakfast the morning it was found out the utilities had been turned off. When she went to open the waffle iron, she was met by a bunch of sticky gooey batter. *The fake stock name "Can All Pet" wasn't thought up until the day this episode was filmed. *According to Mrs. Trumble in No Children Allowed, she and the Ricardos signed the same lease. Mrs. Trumble states in this episode she owns a cat, but Fred states in Little Ricky Gets a Dog that the lease says 'no pets allowed'! Quotes *Ethel: Hey, speaking of bills, I hate to bring it up, but how 'bout the rent? Lucy: Please, not before breakfast, Ethel. Ethel: Well, you know I don't care, honey, but last night, Fred found out you'd only paid half the rent. Lucy: Couldn't you have kept it from him? Ethel: You just be happy he didn't find out it was half of LAST month's rent! *Lucy: They've threatened to shut off everything but my oxygen supply. *Ricky: Lucy! Lucy: There's nobody in here but us deadbeats! *Ricky: Or is there any point in me trying to use the telephone? Lucy: Well, you can try it, but I think you'd have more luck with two cans and a string. *Mr. Hickox: Congratulations. Lucy: What for? Mr. Hickox: I finally found a set of books I can't figure out. *Lucy: $5 to buy food and have my hair dyed? DONE! Well, at least I have a choice. I can be a thin redhead or a fat brunette. *Lucy: If you don't appreciate what I do, then I guess you just don't want me around here. I can always take Little Ricky and leave you, you selfish beast! Mr. Hickox: You'd better save that for Mr. Ricardo... *Ethel: I know there's nothin' I can get for you, is there? Lucy: Not unless they're selling money marked down to nothing. Ethel: Aw, you poor little thing. You don't have any fun anymore, do you? *Ethel: You haven't had our hair touched up for two weeks. What does it look like under that scarf? Lucy: It looks like I'm wearing a black beanie. *Ethel: How's the redheaded Green Grocer? *Lucy: He's the business manager- let him manage! *Ricky: Has she been borrowing money from you? Fred: Are you out of your mind? *Fred: Maybe your business manager got softhearted? Ricky: Are you kidding? Mr. Hickox?! He makes you look like Diamond Jim Brady! *Fred: I think I heard Lucy say something about the market. Ricky: The market? Fred: Yeah. Ricky: The market?! Fred: Yeah! Ricky: That's it! That must be it! Fred: What? Ricky: Lucy's playing the stock market! *Ricky: Maybe she has a sixth sense! Fred: Well, she might. She never had any before. *Ricky: What if she IS playing the stock market? Fred: Well, then we all better get ready for another crash! *Ricky: How do you know what to buy? It's amazing! Lucy: Amazing? What are you talking about? I just buy what the people want! *Ricky: Now, I suppose you're gonna put $500 right back in the market? Lucy: That's what I'm gonna do with it, alright! *Lucy: Lucy to Little Small Voice. Come in, Little Small Voice. Over!﻿